Bedtime is quite the struggle for the Shaffer kids sometimes. Noah and Hope share a room, and there is often late night drama that is the result of their attempt to try to deny their sleepiness as long as possible combined with their determination to have the final say over each other about meaningless things. Noah, as the oldest, is usually the one trying to tell Hope what to do. The other night, he was irate that Hope's leg was dangling off the side of her mattress into the neutral zone between their beds. After several attempts to remind him that he isn't the boss, I tried the "let it fix itself" method. Unfortunately, it didn't. Hope ran out of her bedroom crying and yelling, "Noah punched me!"

Obviously, a physical altercation requires a tough talking to. Even though Noah can be rough with Hope at times, he is usually capable of understanding the gravity of his actions and that he hurt someone he loves. After discussing all this with him, and going through the apologies and gentle hugs, he was emotionally spent. He was so tired and I could tell the guilt of what he had done was really weighing on him this time.

Through tears, he kept asking over and over, "WHY IS IT SO HARD TO LISTEN?!"

I felt like a four year old version of Paul, the apostle, was screaming to me from that little mattress, "I WANT TO DO GOOD, BUT EVIL IS RIGHT THERE WITH ME!"